Weigh-in 42 : Goooooaaaaallllll*

*for 2013

Start weight: 178.8 kg (394.2 lbs) 

Last week's weight: 119.5 kg (263.5lbs)

Current weight: 118.8 kg (261.9lbs) 

Loss this week: 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs) 

Overall loss: 60.0 kg (132.3 lbs) 

Start BMI: 56.4  

Last week's BMI: 37.7

Current BMI: 37.5

Well I dreamt big and I followed through. I think I have achieved something I feel is quite remarkable over the past 10 months. At the beginning of this journey, I thought it would be a massive struggle. And it was for a while, but losing all this weight has been so much more easier than I ever thought it could be. And I haven't been doing anything out of the ordinary. Cutting the crap, increasing my consumption of vegetables and fruit and being a little more active.

So what happens now?

My journey is not yet over. I'm going to try and lose another 10 kg by the end of the year. I'd be happy with 8 and that will bring my total loss to 150 lbs under the old imperial weights and measures.  I'll reassess after that. But for now I'm going to allow myself a moment of joy and exhilaration. I feel like a mountaineer who has battled his way, step by unsteady step, up a steep incline. I have emerged from the cloud layer and I can see the peak before me.

Weigh-in 30

Start weight: 178.8 kg (394.2 lbs)

Last week's weight: 134.3 kg (296.1 lbs)

Current weight: 132.8 kg (292.8 lbs)

Loss this week: 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)

Overall loss: 46 kg (101.4 lbs)

Start BMI: 56.4

Last week's BMI: 42.4

Current BMI: 41.9

 

So many milestones have converged this week. The biggest and most important is that I have now completed Phase III of my 2013 goal to lose 60 kg. Indeed, I now only have 14 kg left to lose to get to my goal for the year (of course if I do, I'll just start on my 2014 goal early). 14 kilos in five months? I'm pretty sure I can do that.

 

Secondly, going over the hundred pound mark is a big deal. As I explained last week, the forums I frequent are mainly American, and they think in pounds. Being able to say I've lost over 100 lbs makes me very proud of myself.

 

Thirdly, I have now lost over 25 percent of my start weight. I don't know what my final, ideal weight will be. If I stick to the BMI definition of normal, it should be at most 79 kg. I don't think that's realistic, especially as I will want to build some muscle mass. I think a target in the 80-90 kg range would be better. And if that's the case, then a 50% reduction on starting weight is desirable and so I'm halfway to goal.

 

Anyway, despite the minor setback I had when I visited Wellington, July has been a productive month. On the first of the month I weighed 138.6 kg, so I have lost 5.8 kg in the past four weeks. I think that was a little out of the ordinary given the giant 2.3 kg loss I had in the week ending 7 July, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I just have two goals for August:

 

- Get into the 120s

- Reach a total loss of 50 kg 

Right now, I'm 6.3 kg away from moving out of Class III obesity and into Class II. I don't think that will happen by my last August weigh-in on the 25th. But hopefully in early September I'll get there.

Weigh-in 18 : special edition

Start weight: 178.8 kg (394.2 lbs)
Last week's weight: 150.6 kg (332 lbs)
Current weight: 148.8 kg (328 lbs)
Loss this week: 1.8 kg (4 lbs)
Overall loss: 30 kg (66.2 lbs)
Start BMI: 56.4
Last week's BMI: 47.5
Current BMI: 47


This is absolutely fantastic. I have made it to the end of Phase 2, and a lot faster than I expected. It took me 18 weeks to lose 30 kg and I am just so confident about what the future holds.

 Already, I have met two of the goals I wanted to achieve this month - getting into the 140s and ending Phase 2.

It means so much to be at the halfway point in what I want to achieve this year. OK, I still am seriously obese, but it took me years to get to 178.8 kg. Clawing so much back in just a few months - 18 weeks - is incredible. My only regret is not starting this journey earlier, but that's a common lament for people like me. There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

In the mornings I go into the shower and I examine my rolls of fat. I perform a mental countdown, thinking "okay, it's not that far to 145 and from there to 140" and so on and so on. I imagine how it feels to step on the scales and see those numbers. It felt so good to see that number today. I want more.

Weigh-in 11 : milestones galore edition

Start weight: 178.8 kg (394.2 lbs)
Last week's weight: 159.8 (352.3 lbs)
Current weight: 158.2 (348.8 lbs)
Loss this week: 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs)
Overall loss: 20.6 kg (45.4 lbs)
Start BMI: 56.4
Last week's BMI: 50.4
Current BMI: 49.9

Yes! I have hit the 20 kg milestone. I am a third of my way towards my goal for 2013. In addition, my BMI has dropped below 50 and I have broken through the 350 lb mark. It feels so good to have come so far. Don't stop me now.

Weigh-in 8

Start weight: 178.8 kg (394.2 lbs)
Last week's weight: 165.2 kg (364.2 lbs)
Current weight: 162.8 kg (358.9 lbs)
Loss this week: 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs)
Overall loss: 16 kg (35.3 lbs)
Start BMI: 56.4
Last week's BMI: 52.1
Current BMI: 51.4

I am thrilled, stunned and amazed with this week's result. I was hoping for a 1.4 kg loss to get me to the 15 kg mark, and instead I got an extra kilogram to take me to a 16 kg loss. I had to double-check, because 2.4 kg is a huge loss for 1 week, but the scales gave the same result twice in a row. This is absolutely wonderful. Given that my goal for the year is to lose 60 kg, I'm now a quarter of the way there.

So, yay for me! As I mentioned, I mentally broke up the 60 kg goal into four 15 kg phases To get the first phase done in less than two months is great, and gives me a month in hand for the rest of the year. This also takes my weight out of the 360s lbs range (it's helpful to think in multiple systems) and into the 350s. My next goals in the short term are:

• Get into the 150 kg range
• 20 kg loss
• BMI <50

Stop the presses

Okay, so today is not my regular weigh-in day. I'm not going to update (actually I did) the chart or go through the rigmarole of posting the various figures I post on Sundays. I do weigh myself several times a week, though. Just to keep track. And I had to share this right away.

I have reached the 10kg milestone much faster than I expected.

I've smashed through it by half a kilo. I haven't been sick, I haven't changed my diet or my activity level. It has been a little colder than usual, though. I took some shirtless profile shots today and compared them with last week. There is a definite improvement there. I think maybe my body used some energy in maintaining my body temperature against the elements. My activity level is probably going to drop over the next couple of days. So I think the loss rate will drop back a little. Today is a public holiday and I've tacked on a couple of days of annual leave to that, I'm not back at work until Monday.